The NJ Police Chief Magazine Volume 24, Number 9 | Page 22

The New Jersey Police Chief Magazine | December 2018
Continued from previous page
It is in this area where, particularly in a 24/7 media world, errors, mistakes and poor or sloppy practice will be
scrutinised and publicly examined. Weak management, where it exists, will be exposed, and the life-blood, police
legitimacy, will consequently be threatened.
Failure to achieve full professional status
In the Introduction to the Leadership Review, the College of Policing says that embedding professional
ethically-based practice remains an unfulfilled goal in UK policing.
The College develops, publishes and authorises Approved Professional Practice in a range of policing areas. Due
regard to the APP in the execution of functions governed by the APP rests heavily on skilled management, and
rather less on skilled leadership.
Weak management will lead to poor implementation of Approved Professional Practice, and an undermining of the
ambition fully to professionalise policing – adding to the difficulties discussed above in relation to strategic risks.
Failure to attract high quality recruits
Only a profession with strong values, seen to do good, will attract the best, the brightest and the most talented.
Professions such as medicine and law have traditionally been the most effective at recruiting those from ethnic
minority communities. Any undermining of the legitimacy of the police, linked with a failure to succeed in
identifying it as a profession, will impede the ambition to recruit the best, and especially from diverse
communities.
This last area is crucial to take the police service forwards, and was identified by Lord Scarman in his report into the urban
disorder of 1981 (Scarman, 1981): “The composition of our police forces must reflect the make-up of the society they serve.”
Conclusion
‘Leadership’ and ‘Management’ are linked but separate concepts. Each is equally important to the evolution of a superior police
organisation. There is currently an asymmetry, where ‘leadership’ is the must-have doctrine, primarily in response to the need
for unprecedented change – its design and implementation, and ‘management’ is consequently being subordinate.
A failure to redress this imbalance will result in significant lost opportunity over coming years as leadership in the police
organisation is forced to manoeuvre in order to mitigate reputational damage, and to protect the police relationship with the
community at large which will occur as a consequence of a failure to manage processes and resources.
This has serious implications for people-related issues. These include legitimacy and trust, a fundamental tenet for the
successful policing model enjoyed in the UK; a failure fully to professionalise the service, and a consequential failure to
improve diversity by attracting the brightest and best from all communities.
This article was first published on Policing Insight. The views, information, or opinions expressed by contributors
or advertisers to The New Jersey Police Chief Magazine are solely those of the individuals involved and do not
necessarily represent those of The New Jersey State Association of Chiefs of Police, its officers, or employees. The
primary purpose of this publication is to educate and inform. This publication does not constitute legal or other
professional services or advice.
References
Bennis, W (1992) ‘An Invented Life: Reflections on Leadership’ Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley
College of Policing (June 2015) ‘Leadership Review; Recommendations for delivering leadership at all levels’, available at http://www.college.police.uk/What-we-
do/Development/Promotion/the-leadership-review/Pages/The-Leadership-Review.aspx (accessed 16 April 2017)
Covey, S (1999) ‘Seven habits of highly effective people: Restoring the Character Ethic’ London: Simon and Schuster
Harrington, J (2001) ‘Health Effects of Shift work and extended hours of work’ Occupational and Environmental Medicine 58: 68-72, available at http://
oem.bmj.com/content/58/1/68, (accessed 18 April 2017)
Ratcliffe, R (2013) https://www.theguardian.com/careers/difference-between-leadership-management (accessed 14 April 2017)
Scarman, Mr Justice (1981) “The Brixton Disorders 10-12 April 1981’”HMSO: CMND 8427, 1981, Warrant of Appointment
Tupman, W (1998) “Supranational Investigation after Amsterdam, the Corpus Juris and Agenda 2000” Journal of Information and Communications Technology
Law, vol 7, no. 2 1998, pp 85-101
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